Angry at Provident Metals...(Resolved)

I'm going to call them today, and see if they will make this right.. if so, I will report this here. If not? The same...

I placed an order on the 4th for 10 ASE's and 5 Kook's... they charged me $13.95 for shipping, and an extra $7.49 "fee" for online payment. Normally, I am good with this.. their premiums are low when compared to others, and when all is added up, the savings is still there compared to other online stores.

I placed another order on the 5th... this time, 5 ASE's and two Gold Sovereigns. This time, they charged me $18.95 shipping, and a $15.61 online payment surcharge.

I can deal with that.. larger cost order.. insurance when shipping.. ect. I understand.. its a signature required delivery.


Here's my problem...

They send two different e-mails showing each individual order having been shipped. Cool.. same as before.

Now the kicker. I get ONE BOX in the mail today.. flat rate USPS, signature required. Not the two seperate shipments I was charged for.

I'd be cool with one shipping charge... and the surcharges. But $32.90 in shipping charged.. and they combine the packages? Not cool.:headbang:

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Man.. what a good outfit.:thumb:

Just got off the phone with "Jake"... he was friendly, fast to help, and was able to offer me a credit on my next order to offset the shipping overage.

Dont mean to come off as quick to judge... just the initial angry rant at seeing the overage!

But any company willing to take the call immediately (instead of making you sit & talk to an operator 5 minutes later), be friendly, and offer to fix the problem then & there is a good company to deal with.

As for the coins they sent... gorgeous as always. The Gold sovereigns are awesome.. a 1966 AU, and a BU 1910.

 

lol that took all of 10 min total to switch your mind

 

Mind not switched... hehe... I said I'd call, and report what happened. I just didn't expect to have my call answered that fast... or get an actual kind human on the phone willing to fix the issue so quickly.

Thus.. it took all of ten minutes... which is a good thing!

 

I plan on ordering a roll of 2010 ASE's from them if silver gets to $16/oz. this month. I see where they raised their premium over spot on the ASE's from $2.49 over spot to $2.69 over spot which still isnt too bad.

 

Good info. I'll avoid them due to the excessive shipping and handling.

 

My local guy wants $22 for a 2010 ase... ebay's not much better.. most time worse. So, After shipping & fees, I'm still coming in lower than where I can buy elsewhere (that I have found!).

 

Same for me, which is why I prefer online dealers. Thank you for posting about this, because honest appraisals from buyers are the only way I can judge who to deal with. Since you say the quality was excellent, and they resolved your problem quickly, I am considering trying them out, depending on the prices at Apmex etc.. Since I would be paying by check, I don't have to worry about the credit card fees, so all I have to calculate is shipping, premiums, and of course quality. Usually I find apmex to be the cheapest once all of that is factored in, but I've been hearing good things about Provident.

 

Unbelievable!!! I dont think you will be shopping with them anytime soon!!

 

Amen.

Sounds like these guys were tryin' to slip one over you. What they did, by combining shipments, really would have tee'd me off. You were wise to call them, and they did, in the end, do the right thing, but after that experience I'd never order from them again. MHO...:smile

 

Glad you got your coins and everything worked out. That said, the shipping charge of $18.95 is excessive, period. It's a shame that companies think they're smart and they charge one amount whether your in Egypt or California. Not fair, I don't care how good their coins are it's simply not right and they will not get my business. hya:

 

I hear you all... but the sad fact is, in the current market.. with no local shows, and with the only dealer in town a great guy, (but just a tad expensive), finding "good" online folks to deal with is the only thing supplying me.

I average out everything before buying. If provident can put a coin in my hand for $.50 less than an add on ebay with free shipping... I'll jump.

Being a business owner, online and in the real world (storefront), I appreciated how well they handled it today as soon as I called. I've seen a lot worse from many companies.. I was pleasantly surprised.

The sad fact is.. unless you have a secret source for below spot... hehe... there isn't much choice for many of us, but to find the absolute best deal. So far... of all the ones I've delt with, Provident has been the best.

I'll treat this as a honest mistake by an employee, and keep buying.

 

Most of you guys are high rollers compared to me,but the best i could do for 2010 ase was $20.50 when spot was $18.00. All i can say is i wanted some?

 

I hear you bud.. and I would normally agree. I have shipped custom handgun frames or slides for less myself.

However.. I take the total cost into consideration. If I order 20 ASE's from one source... versus provident, even with the S&H, because of the lower premiums, they end up getting me the coin for less.

Case in point.. Ampex is selling an ASE for $20.45 right now... provident is selling the same coin, BU, for $19.40.

The $20 difference over 20 coins more than makes up for any shipping overage. The end result? I get the coin from Provident for about $1+/- less than Ampex.

I'd have to find a online dealer selling this cheap.. and charging $6-$10 s&h (insured signature required) to beat provident's deal. I can't find anyone doing this.

 

Yes, you have to add it all up, and I don't see anyone cheaper either. (Of course it depends on exactly what you're ordering, specific premiums involved, the time of day etc.) Although I have heard that monarch sometimes has excellent deals on silver.

 

I like there pricing and shipping, I don't order more than 100 bucks worth of silver at a time so that 4.95 shipping cost for under $99.99 is great compared to other dealers like Ampex, talk about robery.

 

I notice that aot of places that deal in low margin items and really volitile prices always try to build in extra charges to cover their buts...


Price for item
+
Price for processing/Handeling
+
Price for shipping
+
Price for CC payment
+
or Price for (insert payment option)
+
etc.. etc....



To me, it should be Item price + fair Shipping cost... Cut out the BS...


This is why I'm buying more local than online.. Sure the local prices seem higher at 1st, but then figure in all the add on costs and yor at the same or higher...

Now you walk out with it and yyour supporting the local guy... As an added bonus, you don't have to worry about USPS, UPS or Fedex losing it or droping it out of a plane as they fly over or by...


Now I don't have a problem with them charging me 10.00 on each of two orders then shipping it in one box that costs them 20.00 to ship, it works out fair...

But if that box shows up and I know it cost `10.00 and they charged me 10 twice or 20.00 I'm a littke angry...

 

Problem is for me, I am still ahead by about $.50 a coin by purchasing online versus my local guy.

 

Just curious / food for thought: Have you offered to bring your local guy regular business if he can match an online seller? Not sure of your relationship with the local guy.

 

Looks like a snap judgment to me. Ive ordered from these guys SEVERAL times and they are EXTREMELY professional. A very well run outfit!!! The things I like most about them is their shipping is fast and and they have bulk pricing even if I buy one silver round. If I buy from @PM3X I have to buy 500 at a time to qualify for their best price. No thanks. Ill stick with Provident.
At any rate, Im kind of glad some of you young bucks aren't going to try them out. That way their shelves will stay full when I get my refund check back.